This application is a continuation-in-part of commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 112,842, filed Jan. 17, 1980, entitled OUTER SOLE STRUCTURE FOR ATHLETIC SHOE, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,327,503 the subject matter of which is incorporated by reference herein to the extent it is not inconsistent with the subject matter of this application.
The present invention pertains generally to cleated athletic shoes and more particularly to an improved arrangement and structure of cleats integrally molded with the outer sole of the shoe.
The prior art includes numerous examples of cleating arrangements on the soles of athletic shoes, some of which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,793,750 and 4,098,011. In the primary embodiment of the athletic shoe disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,793,750, a uniform arrangement of square-shaped cleats is provided on the bottom surface of the outer sole. All of the cleats are arranged in parallel staggered rows and the orientation of each cleat is such that its front and rear edges are aligned parallel with respect to the parallel alignment of rows.
It has been observed that most athletes tend to abduct (point their toes outward from the direction of travel) during the propulsion phase of running at a slight angle of between 10.degree. to 4.degree.. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a sole for an athletic shoe having a cleating arrangement which takes advantage of this tendency to abduct in order to maximize the effective force transfer between the foot and the ground as the athlete drives his or her body forward.